Automobile lifting jack



July 2l, 1936. H. H. HARRIS "AUTOMOBILE LIFTING JACK Filed July 13, 1935 2 SheetS-Sheet 1 xNvENToR w #www BY ATTQRNEY July 21, 1936. H. H. HARRIS AUTOMOBILE LIFTING JACK 2 Sheets-Sheet 2 Filed July 13, 1955 ATTORNEY yits" Patented July 21, 1936 ated jack, is inconvenient and objectionable. In

some automobiles, the axle or other parts beneath which a jack must be placed for lifting the car is l 15 so low that it is only with great dimouny. that jacks of special design can be positioned properly for the purpose of lifting the automobile. It is anr object of my invention to provide a lifting jack which `is operated by hydraulic means and forms a permanent part 'of the structure of the automobile, to enable an peratorto raise the automobile at will by manipulating I.control devices adjacent the drivers seat.

A further object is the provision of a hydraulic lifting jack which is permanently mounted on an automobile, and embodying a rack and pinion arrangement for raising or lowering an automobile by the mere pressure of a button for controlling a supply of compressed air.

30 These and other advantageous objects, which will later appear, are accomplished by the simple Y and practical# construction and arrangement, of parts, hereinafter described and exhibited in the 35, accompanying drawings,` forming part hereof, and inwbichs' i Fig. l is an elevational view partly in section showing essentialfparts of the hydraulic lifting jack,

air and iluid controlI apparatus,

Fig. 3 is an elevational view of the lifting jack,

Fig. 4 is a plan view of the lifting jack shown inr Fig. 3, I A i Fig. 51s a perspective' view of my improved apparatus as mounted on an automobile, one end of the apparatus .being in .position toV raise the automobile, and the other end of the apparatus being in inoperative position, with the wheels of the 50 automobile resting `upon the road.

Fig. 6 is 'a fragmentary enlarged side eleva- `tional view taken on line 6-6 of Fig. '1, and

Fig. '1 is a' fragmentary elevational view of a f rear automobile axle' havingmy improved device 55 attached Uthereto, showing the manner in which of an automobile, the operation of raising one end.

Fig. 2 is .a partial plan view of o. portion or tnoA the automobile wheels are raised clear of `the o road bymyapparatus.

`Referring to the drawings,/in Fig. 5 the apparatus is shown to comprise a. lifting jack at each end of an automobile. Each of the lifting jacks prei'- 5 erably comprises a casing 'l having integral therewith cylinders 8 through which pass racks 9i engaging pinions I Il pivotally connected to tbe cylinders 8 and xed to arcuate levers I I the latter being provided with rollers I2 at their free l0 ends. Each of the levers lII is provided with av suitable' latch element I3, adapted to engage a lug/i4 or the like projecting from the cylinder 8.

lConnected with the casing .1 are pipes I5 and I6,

which lead to the control panel I1 which is adja- 15 cent the steering wheel and drivers seat of an automobile. y

0n eachside of the casing 'I and movable in the cylinders 8'are pistons 2| which are attached to the racks 9. The pistons 2I are connected by 20 a tension spring 22 which normally maintains the 2s (see Fig. 43 with o viscous num suon as oil and the iluid is 'prevented from leaking into the cylinders 8by the close iit of the pistons 2l in the cylinder. vThe pistons Cmay further be 'provided with suitablepacking 21 for sealing purposes.

In operation, when it is desired to raise an end 4of the automobile a valve button 25 on the panel I1 which'controls the. valve connecting pipe I5 with the compressed air pipe I9 of the tank I8 is depressed to allow air to pass from the high' 40 pressure storage tank I8 through the pipe I9 and pipe I5 to casing 1. This air under high pressure forces the oil in casing ,Il against the pistons 2|- to cause the racks 9 tomove outwardly from the cylinders 8 and act upon the pinions IU 4.5 to cause the levers H to move to a substantially vertical position 'as shown in Fig. 5 for the pur-l pose of raising one end of the automobile.

The pipe I6 connected to the casing] is an outlet pipe for'the air and is connected by;a. valve 50 in the panel I'I to an exhaust pipe 20, said valve being controlled by a button 26. When the but- 'ton 25 is depressed it opens the valve between pipes IS'and I5. When the button 26 is def pressed, the valve between the pipes I6 and 20 is 55 oparxed, allowing the air to escape iromcasing 1, thereby lowering the automobile. pressure on the pistons 2| is decreased back to atmospheric pressure, the tension spring 22 drawsl a pump u hich can be operated by the automobile engine until the'desired pressure is attained in the tank, and' said tank may be provided with an airpressure gauge I3 mounted on the panel I 1.

` The lifting jacks of my invention for the front and rear axles of the automobile are substantially alike and are .secured to the axles in any desired or convenient manner, as by means of clamping members 28 which may be carried by the jacks and may be secured to' the automobile axles (see Fig. 7).

The casing Iof the lifting jack for the rear axle of the automobile (see Figs. 3 and 7.) is preferably externally formed to snugly abutthe gear housing 29 of the rear axle, and is provided with pipes l) and 3l which correspond with pipes I5 and Ii of the front axle, i'or supplying compressed air from the tank I8 to the casing 'l and for discharging said` air therefrom; the elbow 32 is connected with the compressed air pipe I9 and is also connected by means of a valve on the panel I I to the pipe 30, the valve being controlled by a button 25; the pipe 3i is connected with the discharge pipe 20 by means of a valveon the panel I1, the valve being controlled by a button. I6.

The levers Ilare provided with studs 4I so,

positioned on the levers as to engage and actuate the electrical switches 42 `carried by the cylinders" l when the levers assumed a vertical po-' sitlon; to' light the bulb I3 on the panel I'i, indicating that the jack is in its fully operative position and that no'moreV air need be supplied tothe easing. l

While I have described my'valve controlling means as being a button it is obvious that other meansfmay be provided for opening and closing the valv in the panel I1 without departing from the spirit of-my invention.t A The buttons 25, 26, and 35, 36 on the control panel are preferably spring actuated and may be selectively -depressed by 'the automobile operator toraise and lower the front or'rear axle. The valves controlled by the panel buttons may be of any mutable type which open only while they are manually depressed and automatically closed.

It desired, the pipes I5 and 30 may be further provided with suitable` check valves 31, vv38 to prevent the compressed air in the casings 1 from Passing dback throughfsaid pipes.

The rollers I2 are preferably provided with ball bearings I9 'and are preferably swivelled in the 4 levers II as shown in Fig. 6. Any suitable means 4I! may be provided infor manually moving the4 rollers I2 out of the levers I I apredetermined When 4the tank ,nl by means o any well known expedients such as mounted in the cylinders, spring are normally l distance to further increase' the uiting distance o! the Jacks.

From the above description it will be seen that I have provided a simple and eective hydraulic lifting jack which can be'conveniently attached to automobiles and similar vehiclesl for raising the wheels for the purpose of changing the tire of the wheel. This device is highly advantageous to drivers when it isnecess'ary for them to change a wheel-or a tire as it is onlynecessary to press a button to raise either end ot an automobile.

'I'he foregoing Adisclosure is to be regarded as descriptive and illustrative only, and not as restrictive or limitative o! the invention, of which certain embodiments may be constructed including many modiilcations without departing from -the general scope herein indicated and denoted in the appended claims. v

Having thus described my invention, what I claim as new and desire to secure by Letters Pat- `casing nlled with oil, cylinders communicating with 'opposite sides of the casing, pistons slidably eans connecting the pistons to normally hold t e pistons in their innermost positions in the cylinders, racks connected to the pistons, levers having plnions enmesh with ,the racks, means to introduce air under pressure into the casing to yforce the pistons outwardly whereby the levers are caused to assume vertical positions, and means to relieve the air pressure in the casing.

2. A hydraulic jack ior motor vehicles, comprising a casing lled with oil, a cylinder communicating with the casing, a pistonA slidably in the cylinder, spring` means to normally maintain the piston in a predeterminedposition, a rack connected to the piston, aI lever having a pinion enmesh with the rack, a tank`containing air under pressure, means controlled from a'vposltion adjacentthe steering wheel for introducing air from the tank into the casing to force the piston outwardly to cause the lever to assume a vertical position, means for relieving the air pressure-in the casing, and latch means for holdingl the lever in a horizontal position when the piston is in the normal predetermined position.

3. In ajack for vehicles, a cylinder, a rack slidably arranged in said cylinder, a lever carried by said cylinderv and engaged by said rack, a switch element mounted on the cylinder and a lug on the lever engaging said Aswitch element when the lever is in a vertical position to close racks, and means to torce the pistons outwardly assume vertical positions.

,to cause the levers to v HENRY H. HARRIS. 

